Thursday, January 22, 2009

ANG POW: RM5 Billion (From Stimulus Package) of Wealth Transferred

Well, less 20% over the KT Bye-Election! This is one job all the Ministries are good at. Maybe only about 2.5 % will trickle down to the kampung folks.

But what about the economy? Well, this is "the Economy"!

"...RM7 billion from the first stimulus package, RM5 billion had been transferred to the various operating ministries and agencies.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister said, another RM2 billion would be transferred by next week.

"The entire RM7 billion will thus be in the hands of the ministries and agencies and they have to take immediate action," he told reporters after chairing the National Drug Eradication Action Council meeting here, Thursday.

Asked as to the timing of the announcement on the second stimulus package, he said the government would decide on that.

"At this stage, we want to ensure the RM7 billion is expanded quickly. We have instructed all operating ministries to take immediate action, " he said.

On Tuesday, Najib had said a second stimulus package would be introduced to assist companies and workers affected by the weakening economic climate.

He said the details, features and focus of the second package was still being studied and discussed with various quarters.

Last November, the government announced the RM7 billion stimulus package aimed at achieving a 3.5 percent economic growth this year. -- BERNAMA ..."

"The entire RM7 billion will thus be in the hands of the ministries and agencies and they have to take immediate action," - Najib

But how sure is Najib that the money will reach the people? I mean the rakyat, not the VIPs business tycoons, not the Umno contractors, not the cronies, not those heading the ministries and agencies.

During the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign, I was told that RM400,000 cold cash was given to a division chairman to be given to voters. The money obviously did not see the lights of PP, nor did it reached the hands of the people. Maybe a tiny winy portion of it. I also heard that immediately after the by-election, the entire family of this chairman went on a holiday overseas!Oooh, RM7billion is a loooot of money. Soon we will have several millionaires. What irony, millionaires made our of a recession!

PengReal easy to ensure RM7 bil expended. First you have Ministers then Dy Mins, MT members, then Ketua Bahagian, followed by Ketua Cawangan and go down the chain. Soon we'll see many more Istanas and illegal satay and tom yam restaurants popping up all over the place.

More Mercs, BMW's, Porsche, Lambor, and throw in a couple of Eurocopters for commuting. Help MAS by travelling First Class with whole families and staying at Toni hotels instead of Tune hotel.

Money from where? Just chop or print lah. No need to be backed by gold reserve. Not enough go and borrow from EPF, Tabung Haji, SOCSO and other pension fund. Why let the money sit there, make it work for BN. Guess now having tallied all the Ketua Bahagian, Ketua Cawangan and all their deputies, the amount needed is more than RM 10B.

Remember UMNO GA is coming soon. Last GA every Ketua Bahagian got RM 1M. Now have to up it, inflation mah.

“The most memorable element in it (the stimulus package) for me was the provision for RM200 million of this fiscal stimulus to go towards ‘re-engineering’ all Malaysia’s toddlers into ‘holistic human capital’, whatever that is, in nurseries run by an organisation led by the wife of the deputy prime minister.” [ Tengku Razaleigh ]